Don't be a drongo with your drone these holidays

Mark Furler is News Regional Media's group digital editor. He’s an award-winning journalist who has lived and worked on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for more than 30 years. He’s passionate about fighting for a better go for locals. His awards include Editor of the Year, and involvement in three PANPA Newspaper of the Year wins for the Sunshine Coast Daily. He has also been involved in INMA and News awards wins for excellence in digital coverage.

AVIATION authorities have joined firefighters in issuing a warning to people wanting to fly their drones following near misses in Australia and the US.

Drones, which can be bought for just a few hundred dollars for basic models, and even cheaper online from China, are becoming increasingly popular in Australia and overseas.

Earlier this month, a Victorian man was fined after crashing his drone during a police operation at Altona.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued the $850 fine because the drone was flown within 30 metres of people.

The man was flying a recreational drone and was not associated with the police operation.

Flying a recreational drone does not require an approval from CASA but there are safety rules.

These include keeping drones more than 30 metres from people at all times, not flying over crowds or gatherings of people, not causing a hazard to aircraft and having the drone in line of sight at all times.

In the Altona incident, the drone hit a power line and narrowly missed a police officer when falling to the ground.

CASA's acting Director of Aviation Safety Terry Farquharson says the incident highlights the importance of following the safety rules when flying a drone.

"People who fly drones have a responsibility to know the safety rules and to follow them," Mr Farquharson said.

"The rules are simple but very important as they keep people safe.

"If you break the safety rules and CASA has evidence we will investigate and we will take the appropriate action, which may include penalties.

Drone footage of floodwater at Miriam Vale:
Footage taken using a Phantom 2 Vision flying camera shows a car trapped in floodwater at Miriam Vale. Video by Jebjeb79.

CASA advises people never to fly recreational drones near places where emergency services are operating.